Nicolas Jackson got two goals to boost his confidence, plus both starting wingers bagged as well to add to their season tallies.
But the best player for Chelsea tonight in their win over Djurgarden was midfielder Enzo Fernandez. He picked up two assists and generally ran the show before being taken off for a rest in the second period.
Player ratings make it clear it was the Enzo show
A glance around the various players ratings show how appreciated the Argentine’s showing was.
“Easily Chelsea’s best player on the night… with his two assists here, he now has more this season than in his previous three combined,” Football.London wrote, awarding the midfielder a 9/10.
“Never going to overawed by the atmosphere and claimed assists for the first two goals before making way at half-time,” was the Evening Standard‘s take, as they gave him a rather harsh 7/10.
Simon Johnson’s summary for the Athletic called it “Fernandez’s best period in a Chelsea shirt… It was like he was having some fun in his back garden rather than facing Djurgarden the way he set up his side’s first two goals of the night… he looked a class apart.”
The numbers back up superb showing for Enzo
SofaScore gave him an 8.1 rating and pointed out some of his best points. He completed 38 of 43 passes, with 3 key passes leading to his 2 assists. He played an impressive 4 accurate long balls out of a total of 5. In games like this, where the opposition sit off him and he has the license to road, he’s such a threat.
Let’s hope that that second half break keeps him fresh for Sunday – that’s when we really need him to step up and perform. Not against the 11th best team in Sweden, but against the best team in the Premier League.
It’s really important to note that Enzo shone (a) against weaker competition and (b) with Dewsbury-Hall (and James) and NOT Cole Plamer deployed in midfield. With KDH far more attentive to ball recovery and defending than Palmer (to the extent it was even an issue against such weak competition) Enzo was free to roam. Alas, when he does this against stronger league competition (and with Palmer in the lineup) he too often leaves Caicedo and the backline exposed to try and clean up messes. The Iwobi goal for Fulham was exactly such a situation where Enzo wanted to get up the pitch. Was slow to react to the ball turning over and then didn’t sprint 100% to get back—and this led directly to our conceding. So there no question he can influence the game in possession. But can he mind his defensive duties at the same time????